Is 1 MacBook Pro C2D worth 2 Dell C2Ds?

Heck NO. Buy 2 Dell and Give me one...

no news there. And in that case there is actually a difference between the 2 notebooks. But what about the alienwares/nothfalcon/vodoopcs that sell the EXACT same model as the sagers resellers like pctorque and powernotebook for double the price..

i love my 700m, but i'd go for the macbook pro over the 2 dells. i think you forgot to add the sxga+ monitor, the 85whr battery on the dell. also, compare the mbp at 5.6lbs versus around 6.3lbs for the dell. let's not forget the backlit keyboard, and i'm simply sold on the magsafe power connector (wish more lappies would integrate it), and of course the extra items you mentioned, software package, os reliability and less susceptibility to viruses and crap not to mention the mbp just feels more solid than the e1505. plus i just like metal rather than plastic. at any rate, i'll keep my 700m until it dies and hope that dell gets something out there, else my lappie will go the way of the mac just like my dell desktop did.

I think the better question is, what kind of windows-based laptop can you build for the SAME cost of the MBP?

Actually, last I checked, the Mac Book Pro only has the WSXGA+ on the 17" model. The 15" has the WXGA screen....the ONLY screen option I might add. You can get higher res screens on Dell's 15" and 17" notebooks and still come in under the price of the macbook pro.

As far as being less susceptible to viruses and the like it's not so much anything Apple's done as much as it is what the internet's denizens are NOT doing. That's really not any kind of safety at all. It's like saying you're invulnerable to a terrorist attack because you live in Canada as opposed to the US. Mind you also that I've used nothing but windows and I've never received a virus, and I don't have problems with hackers or worms, or spyware. But then again I'm smarter than the average user, and most that get viruses get them out of their own ignorance.

GOd, no question - the two dells all the way!

To each his own. If the money isn't an issue, buy what you like.

I've owned Dells and had great luck with the machines, even though Dell's service wasn't especially overwhelming. OTOH, the only problem I've ever had with a Mac was resolved within a half hour or so, when the Mac "genius" handed over a brand-new machine to replace the broken one I brought to the store.

Guess I'd go with the Mac (I'm typing this response on a PB) because the Apple service I've experienced has been outstanding - not because the machine is twice as valuable as a Dell or anything else.

How does this even take any thought at all?!

Hmmm 2 laptops for price of one with same specs or 1 laptop.

Hmm 2 or 1, hmmmmmm?

Isn't two better than one?(in most cases) ex. C2D,AMD Dual Core oh and 2 laptops.

NO question take the 2 laptops and "Donate" one to me.

actually the 15" is 1440x900 native which is more a wxga+. but aside from resolution, there are other factors in an lcd screen.

as far as the second comment, i'm well aware of all the arguments for and against mac. but the fact remains, viruses,worms, etc, are atypical for macs.

it is all a matter of personal choice in the end. people have different deas of what is a "value".

aside from raw hardware comparison between the two, the mbp has things like mag power cord, illuminated keyboard, isight camera, lighter weight, metal casing, remote controland nearly a pound less, which the e1505 does not. all are nice conveniences if you have a need for them, especially the weight difference having had to lug heavy lappies around walking and on bikes, weight is definitely a factor for me. lastly, mac os is much less buggy than windows. hopefully vista will be better, but i'm not holding my breath on it.

but like i said, it's a matter of choice. 30% discounts aren't always there. i for one would pay extra for the extra features and more stability in os. again, i love my 700m, which i think is the best dell lappie i've owned and the reason my wife owns one too, but they haven't been problem free and of course dell support is not what it use to be.

MBP c2d all the way....OS X is that much better than Windows.

When you go to resell the Mac, you'll find it is twice as valuable as the Dell. Face it, the Dell is the Ford F-150 of computers. Millions of them on the road and bland because of their ubiquity. For the life of me I can't figure out why PC laptop makers don't build systems with the same attention to "looks" that Apple does. Even Sony, who at least tries, never gets it right. They may get the look down, but they use cheap materials, or the use decent materials and screw the look up.

Probably because most pc makers don't want to make their laptops look like trendy handbags for male hairdressers who speak with a lisp.
Its a computer for F**ks sake,who lies in bed at night having a toss over the curves or styling of a computer apart from a self absorbed Apple tosser,thinking about what great taste in computers they have or how they really ARE different from the mainstream,but if you try really hard to get to know their complicated personalities,it will be worth it.

And,yeah, your OSX might be that much better than windows [however much that is]but the fact is,the world revolves around windows,not OSX.

with parallels and bootcamp, you can have windows and eat an apple too. if macs and os weren't such good designs, pc makers wouldn't be making things look more mac'ish or os'ish.

hhahaha, awesome post mate

Mac is overhype and overprice!!!

I guess you haven't owned an Apple The pearly white may be nice, but it scratches much more than any other laptops i've owned. Also, there's the yellow coloring on the wrist areas.

Such good designs? doesn't the macbookpro have an overheating/shutting down problem,even though they underclock the crap out of the GPU.

Windows doesn't look anything like Osx to me.

Don't forget that after years of people in Maccandyland telling us about their superior hardware,you are now using pc processors and yeah Mac is eating their words and making the means available to run windows on their machines...which I bet is a precursor to them making it available on new Macs [just like palm/windows mobile].

The really vocal Mac fans are good for a laugh,they only see what they want to see,I liken them to the kid who lives next door that comes over every day to tell you that his dad is better than yours.
The really funny thing is that osx is such a non entity,a blip on the radar,sub 5% market share,if it ceased to exist tomorrow,nothing would change,yet its most audible fans talk like they know something everybody else doesn't,extremely funny.

Think long and hard before purchasing a Macbook Pro. The Aluminum casing is especially prone to dents, warping, and acidic reactions to palm sweat. There is a good chance that a Dell would look more "new" one year down the line than a Macbook Pro would.

bad comparison.

the video card in the dell is half as powerful
the dimensions and the weight for the dell are:
Height: 1.42"
Width: 14.02"
Depth: 10.45"
Volume: 208.04 in^2
Weight: 6.18lbs

macbook pro:
15-inch MacBook Pro
Height: 1.0 inch
Width: 14.1 inches
Depth: 9.6 inches
Volume: 135.36 in^2
Weight: 5.6 pounds

just take a look at the volume the dell is 65% larger by volume
also they are targeted at different markets. The inspiron is for the general market where as the macbook pro is their premier line
the list goes on and on

hell, this is way the hell more than just apples to oranges